Azure Repos collaborating with pull requests

Streamline your team’s code collaboration with Azure Repos pull requests. In this guide, you’ll learn how to:

Create a feature branch
Push changes
Open a pull request
Review code
Complete the merge

Whether you’re preparing for AZ-400 certification labs or improving your CI/CD workflow, this end-to-end pull request process will keep your repository clean and your team in sync.

1. Create a Feature Branch and Push Changes

Start by branching off master so your changes remain isolated.

cd ~/mnt/c/Users/jeremy/Projects/KodeKloudGifts
git checkout -b ChangeFrontPage     # Create a feature branch

Open Pages/Home.razor in your editor and update the marketing copy:

@page "/"

<PageTitle>Home</PageTitle>

<h1>Kode Kloud Gift Shop</h1>
<p>
  Welcome to the Kode Kloud Gift Shop, 
  where you can find the quirkiest and most unique gifts 
  at unbeatable prices! Whether you’re looking for a gift 
  for a friend, family member, or yourself, we’ve got you covered.
</p>

Stage, commit, and push your branch to Azure Repos:

git add Pages/Home.razor
git commit -m "Update front page marketing text"
git push -u origin ChangeFrontPage

Note

If you don’t see the new branch right away, have your collaborator refresh the Branches view.

The image shows a screenshot of the Azure DevOps interface displaying the branches of a repository. It lists two branches, "ChangeFrontPage" and "master," along with details like commit IDs, authors, and status.

2. Open a Pull Request

Now that your feature branch is pushed, initiate a pull request (PR) to merge into master:

Navigate to Repos > Pull requests > New pull request.
Set Source to ChangeFrontPage and Target to master.
Add a descriptive title, e.g., Change front page text, and a clear description.
Assign Jeremy Morgan (or the appropriate reviewer).
Click Create to open the PR.

The image shows a pull request creation page in Azure DevOps, with fields for title, description, reviewers, and work items. The sidebar includes options like Repos, Pipelines, and Test Plans.

3. Review and Complete the Pull Request

3.1 Review Code Changes

As a reviewer, check for:

Correct source → target
No merge conflicts
Clean diffs and concise commit messages

Leave comments or questions inline:

Jeremy: Has this text been approved by legal?
Lloyd: Yes, it’s already been cleared.
(Mark as resolved)

Inspect the diff for Home.razor:

The image shows a pull request in Azure DevOps for a project named "KodeKloudGifts," with a proposed change to the "Home.razor" file. The change involves updating text on the front page.

3.2 Choose a Review Outcome

Azure DevOps supports multiple review decisions:

Approve (with or without suggestions)
Wait for author
Reject
Abandon

The image shows a pull request interface in Azure DevOps, with options to approve, reject, or comment on the changes. It includes a conversation about the review status and a description of the changes made.

3.3 Merge Settings and Strategies

Once approved, click Complete and pick a merge strategy:

Strategy	Description
Merge (no fast-forward)	Preserve all commits in a merge commit
Squash commit	Combine changes into a single commit
Rebase and fast-forward	Apply commits directly on `master`
Semi-linear merge	Rebase then merge, preserving a linear history

You can also:

Edit the merge commit message
Complete linked work items
Delete the source branch automatically

Warning

Deleting the feature branch is irreversible. Ensure you won’t need any additional changes before confirming.

The image shows a pull request interface in Azure DevOps, with options to complete the pull request and post-completion settings.

Result and Next Steps

After merging:

master now includes your updated Home.razor.
Any branch policies (build, test, deploy) on master trigger automatically.
Your team can continue developing new features without conflicts.

This pull request workflow is central to scalable DevOps practices in Azure Repos and is a key skill for the AZ-400 exam.

Links and References

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